Basic+ Word of the Day: own

If you own something, it means that it is yours, usually because you bought it.

She owns 15 pairs of shoes.

We can use own to show that it is important that something is yours and not somebody else’s.

I like living with my parents but I want my own apartment.

My daughter has her own computer.

We also use own when someone does something that most people don’t normally do.

I make all my own clothes.

Common uses

When we do something without the help of other people, we often say that we did it on our own. For example, “My colleagues were sick so I had to do the presentation on my own.”

In pop culture

You can also say you are “on your own” if other people are not with you. In the famous musical Les Miserables, a woman sings a song called “On My Own” because the man she loves does not love her. Listen for words about being isolated, like “without a home,” “without a friend,” “without him,” and “I love him, but only on my own.”